Railroad season-ticket.



N0. 682,|02. Pateled S'Bpl. 3, 190|. G. A. MERRILL. BAILBUAD SEASON TICKET.

(Application 51nd In. 8,1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. MERRILL, OF SOUTH FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILROAD SEASON-TICKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 682,102, dated September 3, 1901.

Application iiled March 6, 1901.

To ctZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. MERRILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Framingham, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and usefulIinprovements in Railroad Season- Tickets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in railroad season-tickets of the kind in which the coupon-leaves are bound in book form, each such leaf containing detachable coupons that are to be taken up by the conductor for each ride between the stations for which the season-ticket coupon-book is issued. Usually in season-ticket coupon-books of this kind the time-limit for which the book is to be used is printed or written on the outside or inside of the cover of the book, which requires the conductor to examine such cover every time a coupon is detached, so as to be sure that the passenger is not using the book beyond the time-limit for which it was originally sold and issued. Such examination by the conductor is objectionable, as it is apt to reilect upon the honesty of the passenger, and, besides, it takes up a great deal of the conductors time in making such examination.

My improved season-ticket has for its object to enable the conductor to ascertain, simply by looking upon the coupon, whether or not it is expired, without the need of examining the cover of the book, thus facilitating the taking up of the tickets and preventing fraudulent use thereby by the passengers holding such seasontickets. For this purpose my invention is carried out as follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 represents a front elevation of one of the leaves in the coupon-book, and Fig. 2 represents a perspective view of the couponbook in which a series of such leaves are bound.

Similar letters refer to similar parts whereever they occur on the different parts of the drawings.

In Fig. l, A represents one of the leaves, having at one end a stub B, which is permanently attached to the covers of the book Serial No. 50,005. (No model.)

C, as is common in season or commutation ticket books.

In practice I prefer to issue the couponbooks for terms of three months each and to print upon the stubs B the words: Forms l, 2, 3, or 4, respectively, and First, Second, Third, or Fourth quarters, as the case may be. Such printing on the said stubs may, however, be dispensed with without departing from the essence of my invention.

Integral with the stub B are made two or more detachable coupons D Dl and E E,

which may be detached on the perforated` lines d d' e e', as shown. Each coupon has printed or written upon it the name or initial of the road on which it is issued, as shown at F. Italso has written or printed upon it the serial number of the book, as shown at G. It also has written or printed upon it the names or numerical equivalents of the terminal stations for which the ticket is issued, as shown at H. At the bottom of each coupon I prefer to print a notice to the effect that it is void if detached, as is common in devices of this kind. Upon each coupon is printed a notice of the date of its expiration. Such notice is alike on each pair of coupons in the series, as shown at I I I I in Fig. l. Thus, for instance, on the coupons D D are printed the words Expires January 1st and on the coupons E E are printed the words Expires January 2nd 5 and so on on the successive leaves in the book. Thus it will be seen that each pair of coupons are alike, allowing the passenger to use it during the day corresponding to the date printed on it. Thus, for instance, if a passenger travels from his home on January 1 the conductor detaches and takes up coupon D. When the passenger returns on his homeward trip on the same day, the conductor detaches and takes up coupon D, and so on. If a passenger should not travel on the road for one or more days, the conductor removes such coupons corresponding to days not used as soon as the passenger presents his ticket-book for a ride. As the coupons are dated in pairs for the day they are to be used, the conductor can see at a glance by looking at the coupon presented ICO for cancellation Whether or not the passenger is using the ticket at the proper time for which it is issued, and it is not necessary for the conductor to ascertain such fact by examination of the outside or inside of the cover of the book.

Another advantage of this ticket-book is that it may be sold for any portion of a year or month simply by the removal by the ticketseller of such dated coupons that are not to be used by the passenger and retaining in the book only such for which the passenger pays. If the season-ticket is to be used on a main line and a branch road, I may use a pair of such books, one for each road, or, if so desired,one portion of the book may contain detachable dated coupons for the main road and another portion of the said book may be provided With corresponding dated coupons for the branch road.

The device is very simple and is very useful, as it enables the conductor to readily eX- amine and take up passengers coupontickets, at the same time as it serves as an eifec tual check against fraudulent use of coupons by passengers beyond the time-limit for which the coupon-tickets are sold.

W'hat I Wish to secure by Letters Patent and claim is- 1. A railroad season-ticket, consisting of a series of pairs of transportation-coupons, each coupon of said pairs of coupons having a single designatory inscription across the face thereof to indicate the day of its expiration, the single designatory inscription upon each coupon of each pair of coupons corresponding.

2. A railroad season-ticket, consisting of a series of pairs of transportation-cou pons, each coupon of said pairs of coupons having a single designatory inscription across the face thereof to indicate the day of its expiration, the single designatory inscription upon each coupon of each pair of coupons corresponding and the said coupons of each pair of coupons being correspondingly numbered.

3. A railroad season-ticket, consisting of a series of pairs of transportation-coupons,each coupon of said pairs of coupons having a single designatory inscription across the face thereof to indicate the day of its expiration, the single designatory inscription upon each coupon of each pair of coupons corresponding, said coupons of each pair of coupons being correspondingly numbered and said coupons of each pair of coupons further provided with a corresponding inscription across the face thereof to indicate the stations or terminals between which the coupons of each pair of coupons are used.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- IIGSSOS.

- GEORGE A. MERRILL. Witnesses:

ALBAN ANDRN, RICHARD C. ULBRICH. 

